Garcia Says No To A Haney Rematch – ‘Live With That Left Hook Nightmare’
Ryan Garcia has ruled out having a rematch with Devin Haney after his return from suspension.
Garcia boxed Haney and defeated him by a majority decision to pull off a huge upset. He dropped Haney three times on his way to a majority decision win. But that all changed after Garcia tested positive for the substance Ostarine. He was subsequently given a one-year ban, meaning he cannot box until April 2025. The result was also turned into a no-contest, meaning Haney remained undefeated.
Garcia maintained that he had not taken the substance intentionally, while his team also stated that the amount in his system was not enough to enhance performance. The fight showed that Haney repeatedly got hit with Garcia’s left hook and failed to make any adjustments. While that may have been the case, the result was ultimately overturned, setting up the narrative for a rematch.
Both fighters initially made conflicting statements about whether they would take the rematch. Haney initially ruled it out, stating that he did not want to fight somebody who was not a clean athlete. He later backtracked, stating that he would be open to it as he believed he could beat Garcia on an even playing field. Ryan initially dismissed the rematch before stating that he would do it upon his return, but now he has ruled it out altogether, calling on Haney to live with the loss.
Garcia Reacts
The news raises serious questions about both men moving forward; Haney will have to live with the perception that he has a weak chin after repeatedly getting hit by the same shot. It will also play a factor in his mindset moving forward. He has spoken about moving up to 147 or beyond, given that he does cut a lot of weight to make the 140-pound limit. But the higher he moves up the weight classes, the tougher it will be to take punches.
This has created the perception that Haney can be targeted if sustained pressure is applied to him. Fights against Gervonta Davis and a welterweight like Mario Barrios present more of a risk for him. Haney will have to regroup after recently returning to training, with reports that he will fight in December.
If the Garcia rematch is not on the table, his eyes must look elsewhere.
Nevertheless, boxers do say a lot of things. Haney has stated that he is keen on taking the rematch, provided that he is the A-side. In the first fight, Garcia was the A side, given that he had more commercial pulling power. His fight with Tank Davis sold over 1.2 million PPVs and produced a live gate of over $20 million. This made it the highest-grossing boxing event in 2023, showing that Garcia’s crossover appeal was a significant part in making that a big event.
Will It Happen?
The Haney-Garcia fight sold over 500,000 PPVs due to Garcia’s antics during the build-up. There were serious question marks over his mental health, with some believing that he was trolling Haney, whilst others were really concerned about his welfare. The actual behavior suggested that it was a mixture of two.
But if a fight does end up being made, Haney has made it clear that he would be the one dictating the terms. That makes a fight less likely, given that Garcia can easily secure bigger purses by facing somebody else, than running things back with Haney.
“If he was right here, I’d get it back right now. I tried to do it fairly, and you [messed] up. I did everything right; all my [tests] came back clean. Everything’s got to be right; everything’s got to be on my terms,” Haney said
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